The Cambridge Society of Somerset are delighted to invite you and your guests to join us in a visit to Mapperton House and Gardens, near Beaminster in Dorset. we shall enjoy a conducted tour of the House, full access to the Gardens and lunch together in the Coach House. 

Mapperton is generally acknowledged to be one of the finest, if not the finest, of Jacobean Manor Houses in the country. It is still in the hands of the Sandwich family. (The House has featured as the setting for a number of films and television series, including the BBC’s ‘History of Tom Jones’ and the cinema films of ‘Emma’ and ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’.) The House is Grade 1 listed, and the grounds and gardens Grade 2 listed. The Gardens were nominated ‘Historic Houses Garden of the Year’ in 2020.

We have arranged for this visit to take place on a Sunday in the hope that it will make it easier for those members to join us who are usually committed on weekdays. Other members of the public are likely to be visiting on that day, but our tours are exclusively for us, and we benefit as a group from a reduced rate.

Lunch will be at 1.00pm in the Coach House. Because numbers in a group touring the House are limited, we will divide into two or (more probably) three groups for that purpose, with House tours commencing at 11.00am, 12.00pm, and 2.00pm. The beautiful Gardens are accessible for independent wandering at all times.  Accordingly, we ask that you let us know when booking (see below) if you are happy to tour the House at any of these times or have preferences. We shall confirm for you ahead of the event the time for your particular tour. The Gardens will be freely available to you from 11.00am and after lunch, so you can choose your own time for visiting them.